1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to book binding and more particularly to a device and method for providing a cover for a book.
2. Background Information
To form books (defined herein to include all sheet and signature assemblages), sheets or signatures typically are collated or assembled so that the sheets of the book are arranged in the desired order. U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,086 discloses, for example, an apparatus and method for forming sheet material assemblages. The sheets or signatures are stacked above continuously moving assemblers or pockets and dropped one-by-one into the pockets. The bottom of the pocket can open to release an assembled, but unbound, book.
To prepare books for binding, the sheets or signatures must then be registered, so that all edges are even. The spine will be flat if a flatback book is to be formed. If signatures rather than individual sheets are collated, the backbone of the book typically will be sawed so that individual sheets within each signature present themselves at the spine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,353 discloses a method for applying an adhesive to the spine of a book and providing a cover to the book. The book is gripped from the top by clamps to expose the spine of the book and to move the spine past a glue station. A cover glue station may also be provided. Glue is provided to an inner side of the cover, which is moved in a direction parallel to the length of the spine of the book so as to overlap with the spine of the book. The side of the cover may then be pressed about the book.
The above-referenced patent has the disadvantage that the covering process is time-consuming and complicated. Moreover, separate transport devices for moving both the cover and the books are required and must be accurately timed for proper alignment of the cover and the book. The need for an accurate alignment of the cover and the book increases the chances for malfunction or a reduction in quality.
Moreover, transporting the book and cover parallel to the spine length results in high linear velocities. The clamping mechanism must be substantial to hold the book. The time for the glue to set is also limited, in that it is impractical with high velocities to provide a track having a long enough length for a clamping system to hold the book before the book must be delivered from the clamp.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method and device for providing a cover for a book without requiring two separate transport devices for matching the cover with the book. Another alternate or additional object of the present invention is to provide a method and device for providing a book cover while the book is being transported in a direction perpendicular to the length of the book spine. Yet another alternate or additional object of the present invention is to permit for more efficient covering of the book.
The present invention provides a method for covering a book including delivering a book into a pocket, and delivering an inverted cover for the book into the pocket, the cover having a first side and a second side. The first side of the cover contacts a side of the book in the pocket. The second side of the cover then travels around the end or spine of the book, i.e. reverses, so that the second side contacts another side of the book.
By delivering the cover into the pocket along with the book, a separate cover transport mechanism which must align linearly with the book transport mechanism need not be provided. Rather a simple collator above the pockets can be used to deliver the covers. Moreover, the present method permits the transport of the book in a direction perpendicular to the length of the spine of the book.
The delivering step may include aligning the book in an unbound state against a pivotal spine stop, and aligning the cover against the same spine stop. Once the cover and the book are aligned, a suction device can move the second side of the cover away from the book and the first side of the cover. The book and the first side of the cover can then be held at a top end by a clamp, and the spine stop removed.
The suction device then rotates the second side of the cover so that the second side moves downwardly. The second side may then be brought about the spine by a sloped ramp. A conveyor belt may then support the second cover side in a generally horizontal position and the book and the first side of the cover can be released so as to slide onto the second side of the cover, thus forming a fully covered book.
The first side and the second side of the cover may have pre-applied glue strips. Gluing stations for the first side, spine and/or second side are also possible. However, the present invention may be used without any gluing stations to provide a loose cover for the book.
The present invention also provides a book covering device including a plurality of movable pockets for receiving a book and an inverted cover, each pocket having a support wall and a spine stop movable with respect to the support wall, and each pocket including a cover reversing device for reversing the inverted cover.
The cover reversing device preferably includes a pivot arm with a rotatable suction device, the suction device suctioning the second side of the cover so as to move the second side downwardly.
Each pocket also preferably includes a clamp for holding a top end of the first side of the cover and the book while the cover is reversed.
The device preferably also includes a sloped table for aiding the cover reversing process and a conveyor for receiving the covered books.
The movements of the movable parts of the pockets preferably are cam-actuated, but also may be driven by individual motors.
xe2x80x9cBookxe2x80x9d as defined herein can mean any type of sheet or signature assemblage in bound or unbound state, including but not limited to, covered printed products, paper booklets, and magazines. The book need not have a spine flat spine, and may include a saddle-stitched book.